I don’t need to rehash the details of the attack, we all know what happened in the Manchester Arena, I don’t have the heart to repeat it. The enemy attack us at our most vulnerable, because they don’t have the stomach for an equal fight. I’ve seen videos of ISIS on the battle field, they couldn’t hit a still target from 10 feet away. They are angst-filled slackers with no skills or achievements. In our culture if you feel an outsider as a teenager, you do what I did, you listen to Nirvana & claim your parents just don’t “understand you.” Extremist lunatics don’t have the same capacity of “phases” it seems.

We know these type of bullies, the small guy in the group who is the most vocal – big in a crowd – but singularly wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Make no bones about it, these men are losers. They have no direction in life. They’ve been sold a lie by their faith that evil is somehow courageous. Just think for a second how miserable & hate-fueled their lives must be to inflict such pain on innocent strangers, all the while knowing they will also certainly die? I have suffered with depression, spent years hooked on anxiety medication, In and out of Dr’s appointments, hospitals & therapy sessions. During my hardest times (which pale in comparison to the families of the victims) I only ever felt that I wasn’t good enough to exist – but never that others deserved the same treatment. I know how shit my life could be at my lowest point – so my mind boggles at how bad theirs is.

No, I am not claiming they are victims. They are scum. My point is, in life we make choices. People like us don’t act like them, we don’t feel such hate, we don’t attack children. We don’t choose the road they do.

Bigotry of gays, suppression of women, viewing all non-Muslims (and other Muslims who enjoy such “vile” things as Make-up and Music) as enemies.

-They are against free speech because it is used to criticize their holy books.

-They attack children because to them, there is nothing scarier than a young group of kids with the opportunity to learn how to think for themselves; especially girls having the right of education.

-They shoot up cafes because our lives are so fulfilled that we have free time to enjoy the company of others – regardless of differing opinions.

-They hate freedom because it flies in the face of everything they’ve lacked in life.

Some years back I began writing specifically about Islamic terror attacks after I watched a video of around 400 Ahmahdi & Shia Muslims being shot one by one & dumped into a shallow grave. They didn’t resist, they just took a step forward after the man or women in front dropped lifelessly to his/her grave. They truly had no hope, you could see it in their eyes; in all these years, I still remember some of their faces. It reminded me of the Holocaust – I wondered why it wasn’t mainstream news. So I began fighting for these people with my writing, it was a small gesture, maybe more for my benefit but it was something. For a short time I had Muslims applaud my work, until they noticed not only was I standing up for Muslims but admitting the killers were usually also Muslims, albeit more extreme. This made me an Islamophobe, somehow.

I hope one day we will feel safe again; the truth is, we are afraid and we should be – we are under attack because of our way of life, and we for damn sure won’t change that. So in time they will tire, knowing that after every bomb and every bullet people will still stand against them, with love in our hearts & care for the truest forms of humanity we see all around us.

Our way of life gives us strength in days of fear. In New York on September 11th 2001, the peace-loving-people of the world stood still in horror. We cried, we hurt, we tried to understand. The evil power that attacked The World Trade centre seemed enough to supplant any hope for humanity that Americans previously had.
But the very next day, New Yorker’s went to work. They cared for each other like never before. Divides of race & colour seemed to dissipate in the hours after the attack as every one came together as Americans. They aren’t alone, cities around the world have shown this resolve in the face of such hate.

Sadly, it’s Manchester’s time to endure the burden of these murderers. Do you think they will lose hope? Do you believe bombs & bullets can dissolve the thriving community of culture, music and love that is Manchester?

Not a fucking chance.

By the time the next football season comes around, I will go back to pretending Manchester are the adversaries of Scousers in a jovial feud over sport – but today I will admit what I usually wouldn’t dare say. Just like every day before & every day to come – Mancunians are our brothers and sisters, cousins and friends. We don’t need to stand with them, we are them – and therefore will never leave their side.

In our darkest times, we need a light to guide the way, one to walk towards as we shake the fear from our bones. Stupidly these terrorists attacked the wrong city. Did nobody tell them about Manchester? Mancunians could never let terror lead them into darkness, they will always find hope; always find a light to walk towards, and as we all know in that city, there is a light and it never goes out.

Rest in peace to the victims & my tearful condolences to their families. As & when the victims are named I will add them below.
*John Atkinson – 26 years old.